Dead State (Demo Impressions)

In case you weren’t aware, “Dead State” is currently on Steam’s Early Access program…though not in the way most of us would expect. Instead of giving us access to the entire Alpha, the developers have shared a build that will give us a seven-day taste as to what “Dead State” is all about. In a sense, it’s an Alpha demo…something that folks should know before dropping the $24.99 necessary to try it out. The good news is that those who do drop the dough will have access to the full game once it’s released, which (according to their website) should be around Summer of 2014. Those who wait will have to pay the game’s full price, listed at $30.00.

For those of you who haven’t heard of “Dead State” before now, it’s a bit like “Rebuild”, a popular flash zombie survival game on the web. You’ll have your very own base (sorry, only one and it’s fixed) and it’ll be your job to oversee both the people and supplies currently occupying it. When you’re running low on food or medical supplies, you’ll be allowed to travel to other places on the map (similar to Zafehouse: Diaries). Unlike “State of Decay“, combat is turn based and draws a lot of comparison to “Omerta – City of Gangsters” in that the combatants will take their turns via a que system. There’s also a lot of math going on behind the scenes, something you’d expect from a semi-complex turn-based RPG.

Seven in-game days isn’t really enough time to form any definite impressions. I did enjoy what I saw however and if the developers deliver what they promise, it’ll be something I won’t be able to put down. The current build has limited functionality and does have quite a few bugs, but this is to be expected from an Alpha/demo combo. If you planned on picking this game up down the line, you may want to invest now simply to save yourself five dollars…though it’s completely understandable to wait and see how the game’s development progresses. While we wait for the game’s final release, you’re free to check out my gameplay videos below.